Finding the successor of the founder of a Dutch business for the Swedish Group CEO |
SITUATION |
We were asked by the Swedish Group CEO of a private equity backed company that designs and manufactures ready-made lift solutions to find the successor of the founder / CEO of the Dutch business. For more than a decade this entrepreneurial founder / CEO had built the Dutch business, team and operations from scratch. A couple of years ago he had sold his business to the Swedish group. He has brought the Dutch business to market leadership and was one of the driving creative and entrepreneurial forces in the Group. The performance of the Dutch business contributed significantly to the overall group result and was one of the key countries in the group.
TASK |
The Swedish Group CEO stated this is a really business-critical role and this search must be done right, no room for getting it wrong. He was worried that the performance of the Dutch business would collapse as the performance of the overall group results. He asked us to find the same kind of person as the entrepreneur he was used to work with.
Finding and replacing the founder / CEO who had built the business from scratch for more than a decade successfully isn’t a standard search and is a job that fits well to our Executive Search practice. It requires creativity, personality and leadership styles assessment, looking at skills beyond just sector knowledge.
RESULTS |
Within 6 weeks we presented the short list with 3 highly qualified candidates. Together with the Swedish CEO we interviewed the short listed candidates. Two of them went on to the 2nd round and were asked to take our psychological assessment tests. In the end we found a highly motivated and well-presented candidate with very strong business acumen, excellent communication and interpersonal skills gained at one the largest private and entrepreneurial companies in the Netherlands.
The Swedish Group CEO was very pleased. According to him we found a modern and better 2.0 version. In the job, this candidate brought the company to the next level, increased employee engagement and overall company performance as well in The Netherlands as in Belgium. He created the climate and culture for further success and made some great changes to bring the company to the next level. This candidate got promoted to the global board and is currently the VP Sales Europe & UK leading multiple countries for the company.
“REPLACED HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL COUNTRY CEO / ENTREPRENEUR WITH MODERN, POTENTIALLY BETTER 2.0 VERSION”
“Richard Vincent was instrumental in replacing a highly successful Country CEO, entrepreneur, who has been for more than a decade a key contributor for the growth and development of the entire company by his thinking and style and personality. Richard Vincent found me a modern, potentially better 2.0 version, a 21st century business leader, a strong business- and people leader through a structured process in which Richard clearly understood my requirements, the business needs and the core competences required to bring that important business to the next level.
Simultaneously we recruited a sales-and marketing director to the Cibes Lift Group also with the support from Richard Vincent. I am very pleased with the two recruitments and how the process was managed both when it comes to speed, number of qualified candidates, the dialogue regarding pros and cons with the candidates and a very relevant and frequent communication with myself.
It definitely helped me to finally take the right decision.”
“Replaced highly successful Country CEO / Entrepreneur with modern, potentially better 2.0 version”
CASE-OWNER(S) |
